Say I
by HakushoRurouni
Summary: Is everything always as it seems? Or is as it seems merely taken for granted? Why has Draco given a prophecy? But more importantly, why is Harry muttering ..Soft. whilst in a dark compartment with Ginny?
1. Chapter 1

* * *

A/N: Well, I'm back! ….Well…back in the Harry Potter section anyway. If you are and/or were one of my reviewers for my other stories, fear not! Now that the school year is starting up for me, I should be able to get back into the groove. For some reason, I find that distractions help fuel the creativity in me!

I will be co-authoring this story with a very good friend of mine. While I know she has a pen name, I don't know what it is, so yeah…

Anyway, ever since I read the Half Blood Prince (if you haven't read it just skip over this part) and saw how J.K. Rowling just stopped Harry and Ginny's romance, I've been dying to write one myself.

While this story is not dominantly focused on Harry and Ginny's love life, it will mostly be focused on that…well however much my co-author will let me go into anyway.

This story will be….different. So different that it could only come from our twisted minds!

Please bear in mind that this story is extremely AU, this is in no way like the books, and neither are the events that happened.

Without further delay, here it is!

Ch. 1

"AVERY!"

A cold venomous voice pierced the darkness, impatient and obliviously angry. It was none other that the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, or Tom Riddle, whichever you prefer.

He paced in his study, clutching a small leather bound book in one hand, his wand in the other. Torn pieces of paper littered the wood floor, as broken quills and ink bottles took up residence on an oak desk in the corner of the room. The emerald green carpet that adorned the floor had long since faded to almost white, due to frequent, if not mostly frustrated pacing by the always short-tempered Dark Lord.

A small, very feeble knock filled the silent room, almost as if the one doing the knocking didn't want to be heard. However Avery was to have no such luck.

"Enter!" hissed Voldemort.

"My…my Lord you w-wished to s-s-speak with me?" stuttered Avery, already on one knee at the Dark Lord's feet.

"Yes, yes Avery I do. But of course, you know the reason for that don't you?" queried the almost alto, but not yet out of tenor, voice.

"My Lord, I-I do not k-k-know what you mean…."

"DON'T TELL ME YOU DON'T KNOW AVERY! I TOLD YOU THAT THERE WERE TWO! TWO! AND YET IN YOUR INCOMPETENCE YOU CAN ONLY DELIVER ME ONE!" Riddle stopped shouting and dangerously hissed, "Where is the other one? …..WHERE!"

Avery, frozen in fear and terror could not reply. He knew that if he did not speak he would surely die. The problem was…how do you tell a psychotic tyrant bent on world domination that what he is looking for…well, to put it bluntly…didn't exist?

Before Avery had finished his inner monologue, there was an impatient growl as Riddle once again shouted, "ANSWER ME AVERY…WHERE IS IT?"

Feeling slightly put off that he would very likely die when he answered, Avery did the only thing that he could do in his hour of desperation…he told the truth.

"T-the seer s-s-said that it h-had not b-been made." Sputtered the scared Death Eater.

"Not been made? IMPOSSIBLE! HOW COULD THE BOOK SAY TWO IF ONE HAS NOT BEEN MADE? LIES!"

At this, the infuriated psychopath flung the book he had been holding across the room striking one of the windowless walls with a small thud before falling to the floor in an inanimate heap.

Avery cowered lower, now his face almost touching the polished wood floor.

"I-I give you n-no lies My Lord. That is the truth…I-I would n-never lie to you My Lord!"

There was silence for a moment as Riddle resumed his mad pacing. Then he stopped. Avery gulped, hoping against hope that he wouldn't bite it just yet as he lifted his head from the floor.

In a flash, Voldemort's blood red eyes were locked on Avery's. The Death Eater felt himself fly back and crash into the wall behind him. He felt something crack but ignored it, as he felt an even greater pain in his head.

He could see the recent muggle killings; he could see the face of the old seer as he questioned her relentlessly. Then as quickly as the sensation had begun, it stopped.

Avery fell to the floor in a disoriented heap.

"Get out Avery." Ordered Voldemort, deathly quiet, "Now."

Not taking another chance, Avery clumsily scrambled to his feet in a flurry of limbs. He turned and nearly tore the door open as he left, never once looking back.

Now alone in the darkness of his study, Tom Riddle slowly crossed the room and bent down to pick up the decrepit brown leather book. He looked at it, torn and tattered, slowly ran a pale hand over it.

His fingers glided across the front, back and spine of it, feeling each of the engravings that were embedded into it.

"Where is it?" Riddle queried again, "Where can it possibly be? Or is there something that you are simply not telling me?"

Voldemort sat down in an ancient, yet still surprisingly comfortable armchair by the fireplace, where the last of the embers were slowly dying down.

"Where are you?" he asked nobody in particular yet again, "Where are you?"

* * *

The rain roared outside as lightning flashed and thunder rolled violently. The already strong wind only seemed to be gaining strength, as it made the windows of the Hogwarts Express rattle and shake.

"Wow, this is really bad weather." Ron stated bluntly, as he was to preoccupied with watching the storm with his face pressed to the window.

"Well that's the bloody understatement of the year." Harry replied, shaking his head at his easily distracted friend.

"They said that this was the worst weather that this part of England has seen in a long time and that it probably won't lift any time soon." Hermione stated knowledgably, whilst knitting a few small hats to occupy herself, seeing as she had finished, _Hogwarts, A History _for the umpteenth time.

Eyeing the lumps of wool Hermione had dubbed hats, Ginny asked, "Hermione, you're not still on about that spew stuff are you? I could've sworn you were over that stage!"

"It's not spew! It's S.P.E.W.! How many times must I tell you…."

The enraged know-it-all was cut off as the compartment door opened. Acting on instinct, Harry and Ron jumped to their feet, wands already in their hands.

"Put those toothpicks away Potty, you as well Weasel King." Drawled the unmistakable voice of Draco Malfoy.

"Make us Malfoy!" Harry challenged.

"Relax Potty, I just came to get Granger."

"What do you need her for?" Ron asked angrily.

"Blimey Weasel don't get your knickers in a twist." Draco replied while rolling his eyes in annoyance, "Isn't it obvious? Or are you just that thick?"

Ron turned red, in anger or embarrassment the occupants of the train didn't know.

"Hermione can…."

But as Ron was about to retort, the train gave a sudden jolt, sending Harry and Ron flying, as the train came to an abrupt halt. Ron into the wall and Harry, well, let's just say that Harry was happy with the outcome.

The lights flickered suddenly then died. Silence eerily seeped into the compartment. However, there was no screaming, from the five teens in the compartment or from any of the other occupants of the train.

After a few seconds of silence, Hermione seemed to snap out of the momentary lull first.

"Is everyone alright?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine." Ron said weakly, probably nursing his head.

"I'm…er..f-fine." Ginny stuttered.

"Ginny? What's wrong?" asked Ron, suddenly aware of things.

But before Ginny could answer, another voice spoke, sounding almost like it was in a daze, "Am I dreaming? Soft…."

"HARRY! GET THE BLOODY HELL OFF MY SISTER!" Ron bellowed.

"Can you actually see?" Hermione questioned.

"NO!" Ron continued yelling.

"Then how do you know that Harry's on your sister?"

"'Mione, please! You're a smart girl. Why else would someone who's just been flung off his feet as abruptly as we were say "Soft?""

There seemed to be a commotion on the opposite side of the room and then,

"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry I didn't m-mean, I mean not t-that it was b-bad but…" Harry's embarrassed voice stuttered.

There was a giggle which Hermione suspected was Ginny. "S'alright Harry. Nothing you could've done about it."

"Like hell he couldn't!" Ron raged.

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked to the darkness. There was no response. "Draco?" Still nothing. "Draco?" She asked again, this time voice slightly cracking.

A strange, bizarre breeze of cold wind rose from the darkness, wrapping itself around the four conscious teenagers.

Then, there through the parting darkness, Draco stood, with an eerie glow to his pale skin that was illuminating the rest of the compartment. His usually gray eyes shone a vibrant royal blue. All of a sudden he spoke, but it wasn't in his normal, drawling tones, the words that came from his mouth were spoken with a sharp and abrupt speech.

"**_Two of blood, Five of purity,_**

**_And one who is the heart of the Trinity,_**

"_**The gray-eyed seer surrounded by ice,**_

_**The green-eyed hero who has rivals thrice,**_

"_**With the brown-eyed fire and blue-eyed duo,**_

_**Where love is good, and Weasels are a pair to yet be understood,**_

"_**Two will fall at the hands of the cold,**_

_**Four shall remain, their end untold."**_

Draco fell to his knees with his eyes closed.

The others sat, or in Ron's case stood in the darkness, their eyes filled with shock, transfixed on the pale figure on the ground.

Suddenly, the train began to move and the lights flickered on, the only thing that hadn't changed was the continuous sound of the pelting rain as it rolled off the sleek surface of the now moving train.

"Sh-should we put him back on the seat?" Hermione asked meekly, the question aimed at the others in front of her.

Harry blinked, "Uhh…yeah, yeah. Ron help me. Let's put him over in the corner."

Ron nodded wordlessly as he stepped over Malfoy's fallen form and helped Harry move the body to an empty space.

When he was over the seat, Ron dropped his half, causing Malfoy's head to hit the cushioned seat rather hard.

"Careful!" Hermione yelled.

"Geez Herms, he's already unconscious, we can't knock him out again." Ron grumbled.

"I wouldn't put it past you. Just be careful." She responded.

A faint "fine" was heard from Ron.

Silence once again reigned over the occupants. They heard loud conversation from the hall. It appeared as if their fellow students hadn't even noticed the stop or the black out.

The air around the five teens was mixed with fear, worry, puzzlement, and a small drop of jealously, thrown in for good measure.

However, none of them spoke another word until the train slowed to a stop at the station in Hogsmeade.

* * *

Dumbledore looked outside his office window, catching sight of the long procession of black carriages that made their way towards the castle, led by the skeletal thestrals.

His office was cloaked in darkness, as he was about to head down to the feast. The moonlight that could make its way through the torrents of rain caused many of his knickknacks and trinkets to glow slightly in the dark.

The pictures that were usually vibrant with life were empty, seeing as their occupants had long before made their way through other portraits to greet the students.

There was a small frown on the aged Headmaster's face. All notes and feelings of happiness died with the now cooling ashes of the fireplace. As Dumbledore stood, gazing at the approaching caravan the twinkle that usually accompanied his bright blue eyes was gone.

The normal healthy color in his cheeks had turned gray. His eyes flicked to each drop of water that landed on the window.

Softly, as soft as his voice would allow he spoke in the empty study, voice full of sorrow and worry seeing as his time here was slowly but surely coming to an end.

"The end…has finally begun."

The words echoed soundlessly through the room, heard only by the darkened silence that had taken over so long ago.

* * *

A/N: And there you have it folks, my first attempt at a chapter of a HP fic! Well…what'd you all think? Good, bad, crap? My co-author and I run on healthy responses and fresh questions. Please R&R!

Chapter two is underway and should be out…well, next! I've found that if I make promises I never keep them…but I will say that neither I nor my co-author will let this story die, and no update shall take more than a month.

Please, please, please review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: WEEEE! I came back with an update sooner than I expected! This should be a rather…interesting chapter.

Well I want to thank my reviewers, GoldenWing and CheeriKerri for your reviews. It's funny, but I got thirty-four hits and only two reviews. Now if that was the two of you then anybody else reading this should just ignore it.

But, hell as long as people are reading it…I'm happy. Although critiques or reviews are greatly appreciated.

I also realized that in chapter one there was no disclaimer…my bad! Therefore I'm going to put it twice in this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does and she bloody well better bring Harry and Ginny back together!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does and she bloody well better bring Harry and Ginny back together!

Here's chapter two!

Ch. 2

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His head wouldn't stop spinning. He could hardly walk and had to grasp at the wall for support. Everything was just too much to digest right now. 

The fact that he had just made a prophecy for one thing. It wasn't plausible. He was sure, thanks to countless forced hours of extensive family research from his father, that there had been no seers at all.

And why out of all the places it could've happened, did he have to have the "vision" in front of Potter and his friends? And then he had collapsed! This was exactly what he didn't need right now, an excuse for Potter and Weasley to spread word throughout the school that he was some kind of pansy.

Draco scowled, 'At least Potter had an excuse, what with the Dementors and all.'

His vision had apparently affected him more than he had thought. He couldn't walk anymore, despite his best efforts, and he collapsed to the floor.

He didn't know how long he had laid there. And he didn't know where there was anymore for that matter. The next thing he knew, there were footsteps coming from somewhere to what he thought was his left. Now he heard a muffled gasp and numerous inaudible voices.

From what he heard whoever it was was now sprinting towards him. Now that the voices were closer, Draco could make out what they were saying.

"Blimey 'Mione! By the way you reacted I could've sworn it was Dumbledore lying there unconscious!" There was a pause, and then a disgusted snort, "Why do we have to help ferret face anyway?"

"Ron you know very well that you and Harry didn't have to follow me. You could've gone straight to the Common Room. But you were the ones who wanted to see my new quarters so shut up!"

She clicked her tongue, "Besides Malfoy's Head Boy, we can't just leave him here!"

"Whoa, lighten up Hermione, I'm not the one who's got a problem with Malfoy."

Hermione sighed, "Yes, I'm sorry Harry. Ron's just being such a prat…" she trailed off.

"Grr…remind me never to ask you a question below your level of intellect again!" Ron growled angrily.

Draco closed his sore eyes in disbelief. Of all people…it just had to be the Golden Trio. He groaned.

"Well, he's not quite dead." Ron sighed disappointedly, and in true Ron fashion, completely disregarded his last statement, "So…can we go now then?"

Now frustrated, Hermione turned her wand on Ron, "I swear Ronald, if you don't shut up I'm going to leave you _wishing _that Ginny had Bat-Bogeyed you!"

Ron gulped, Harry snickered, and Draco groaned again.

"Well 'Mione, since Ron seems to be set on not helping, I'll do it." With that Harry bent down, grasped Draco beneath his armpits, and heaved him upright, while slinging one of Draco's arms over his shoulder.

"Where to?" he asked.

"Best take him to the Hospital Wing in case he's hurt." Hermione instructed.

Ron interjected, "Hermione you know he's not hurt! Dumbledore said he would be tired! That's all. I say we just leave him here!"

With an exasperated growl, Hermione spun to face him, wand out, and barked, "Silencio!"

Ron looked shocked, tried uselessly to speak, then scowled, folded his arms over his chest, and stopped his silent rant.

Harry smirked at this and started down the first few staircases leading to the Hospital Wing followed closely by Ron and Hermione.

When they were a couple of corridors from the infirmary, they ran right into Ginny Weasley, who was in a right state.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY! HERMIONE JANE GRANGER!"

Apparently, she was mad.

"WHERE IN THE BLOODY HELL HAVE YOU ALL BEEN?" she screamed her face already an angry Weasley red, "DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW SCARED I WAS WHEN YOU LOT JUST VANISHED?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Why would you be worried about us disappearing while we are in Hogwarts? It's not like we haven't done it before."

At Hermione's ever brilliant reasoning Ginny stopped shouting and her eyes quickly shot to Harry before, now blushing, turning back to Hermione.

While Harry, burdened by the seemingly heavier Draco missed this, Ron and Hermione however didn't as they both smirked evilly.

"Oh…I see Ginny, you were worried aboOWWW!" Ron, now free from his momentary silence, started but was cutoff as Ginny stepped forward and kicked him on the shin…hard.

"Owowowowowow! Ohh, bloody hell Ginny I'm going to….OW! You didn't have to…." But a laughing Harry and silently grinning Hermione cut him off.

Hermione took the opportunity to silence Ron again before he could go on another rant.

Ginny finally seemed to notice the crumpled heap that was Draco hanging onto Harry.

"Blimey! I know you lot aren't on the best of terms but…what did you do to him? He looks like he's been through hell and back!"

Harry shook his head as Hermione answered, "We were going up to see my new dorms when we found him unconscious. I knew Dumbledore should have forced him to go to the Hospital Wing!"

Ginny nodded and said, "Yeah well, he's a Malfoy isn't he? Stubborn, rude, and hard headed, class A-git!"

Harry decided to speak up at this point, "Umm…not that I'm getting tired or anything," Harry said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "But shouldn't we keep going to the Hospital Wing?"

Hermione nodded and she and Ginny led the way followed by Harry dragging Draco and a still silently cursing Ron.

Finally entering the infirmary, they were approached by Madame Pomfery. "My word! What happened to him?" she asked as she directed Harry over to an empty bed to set Draco down on.

"Well, since Hermione is Head Girl, we were all on our way to see her new dorm. We just happened to find him on the way there, nearly unconscious and sprawled on the floor." Ginny said.

"Well it was good of you to have brought him. Merlin knows what might've happened if you hadn't." She turned to the four of them and started to shoo them out, "You best want to hurry up to you dorms dears, you've only got a few minutes left until curfew."

With that Ginny, Harry, Hermione, and the still silent Ron sped out of the Hospital Wing and up the couple of staircases towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

At the portrait of the Fat Lady Hermione said good night and made her way up to her dorm.

"Unde ti." Harry said to the portrait. It swung open to reveal the red and gold interior that was the Common Room.

Harry and Ginny were just about to go up to bed when there was a sharp snapping sound behind them. They turned to find Ron stamping his foot angrily and his left hand pointing at his throat.

Harry smirked and turned to Ginny.

"Do you have any idea what dear Ronald could be getting at Ginny?" Harry asked, feigning idiocy.

Ginny quickly caught on, "Why no Harry, I couldn't imagine what he might want."

Ron's eyes grew wide and angry at this.

"Well, I'm getting tired, so I think I'll head on up to my bed. And you Ginny?"

"Likewise Harry. Night!"

"G'night Ginny!" With that, Harry made his way up the steps leading to the boy's dormitories.

Slowly and dangerously, Ginny turned to Ron pulling her wand out of her robes. Ron backed away in fear.

"Well, well, well. It appears it's just me and you now little Ronniekins. What should I do to you? Hmm…" she trailed off as she considered her options.

Finally she decided and pointed her wand at Ron.

As she made her way up to her dormitory, she called cheerily, "Good night Ron! Oh, you just might want to take a shower before you go to bed, seeing as you somehow got yourself covered in Bat-Bogey's!"

Ron was left by himself in the Common Room, still silenced and covered in psychotic flying bogeys.

* * *

"Where the bloody hell am I?" As Draco opened his eyes, he hissed in pain and quickly shut them again due to the extreme brightness that assaulted his vision. 

"You are in a dream." said a deep, rich voice.

Draco's eyes snapped open, fighting the incredible urge he had to once again close them. He was too involved with finding the source of the voice to really care.

Once his eyes had finally adjusted, although feeling slightly burned, Draco scanned the seemingly infinite plain white plain in front of him. He knew someone had spoken, he just couldn't remember if he had heard it. He _knew _the words had registered, but it was an odd kind of feeling. It was like the speech had been sent directly to his mind.

Draco shook his head again to clear it and asked, "Where are you?" He was half hoping that he wouldn't get a reply so as to prove he still had his sanity but the voice came again.

"I am everywhere…and I am nowhere."

Draco considered this possibility, shrugged, and then said, "What are you?"

A pause and then, "I am…the Light, for lack of a better word or name."

Draco snorted, "Yes…I can see that." He continued to look for a body, determined to find it, or the source of the "voice".

Still finding nothing, Draco gave up. There was a long silence now as Draco pondered his situation. Finally, deciding it wouldn't hurt, he asked,

"Why am I here?"

"I was hoping you would ask that." Said the voice, "You are here because the vision, or prophecy, you made, has drained you of your magic reserves, therefore rendering you unconscious and into a temporary coma."

Needless to say, this didn't sit very well with Draco.

"WHAT! WHY!" Draco shouted angrily, "NOTHING I'VE EVER READ ABOUT SEERS MENTIONS THEM GOING INTO COMAS AFTER THEIR VISIONS!"

"Exactly!" the voice stated calmly. Draco just looked confused.

"Why the bloody hell am I in a coma then?"

"You know perfectly well that nobody in your family's rather extensive history was ever a Seer correct?" Draco nodded. "The same goes for you." This resulted in even more confusion on Draco's part. "To put it simply, you are NOT a Seer."

"So?"

"So you cannot have visions."

"But I just…" Draco was interrupted.

"Ahh my mistake let me rephrase that. You are not _supposed _to have visions."

"So then why did I have bloody vision on the Hogwarts Express?" Draco asked exasperatedly.

"You had a vision on the Hogwarts Express because we needed you to have it. You see, we had to make it seem as unobvious to others as possible." explained the voice.

"What the hell do you think I am some kind of puppet?" Draco queried angrily, his temper flaring again.

At this comment there were what appeared to be several sounds of snickers registering into Draco's mind.

"What the…" Again the voice cut him off,

"Getting back to why you're in a coma. When we sent the vision it was sent through you because it needed to get out in front of the Chosen. The coma was the result of having to send the vision straight to your mind, which very briefly shutdown. Had it been any of the other Chosen, they would have been killed."

Draco's silence signaled the voice to continue.

"You see, when a vision is sent directly to someone, their minds have to be powerful enough mentally to take the pain. You have a strong mind, stronger both mentally _and _physically than any of the others, and you would do well to use it for the right cause."

Draco was nonplussed.

"You are still in the coma because once your mind recovered, the strain that it had gone through, however briefly, began to register in the other parts of your body. Since you have a strong mind, it was able to continue to function very soon afterward, with certain voluntary actions as well as the involuntary ones."

Draco tried to digest all of this. "…You said "we", why?"

"I say we because there are more than only me here, but the others have decided to take a back seat in this war."

"Ah." Draco muttered.

"Anyway," continued the bodiless voice, "Aside from being unconscious, you are here to receive a gift, a gift that will aid you and the Chosen through this war."

Draco's interest was obvious as his face lit up. But just as soon as it had, they clouded again at the voice's next words.

"The war of ages fast approaches your world, and because of this, I give you power. But remember, with great power, comes equally great responsibility, and by accepting this power, you will be bound by the light in a sort of Unbreakable Vow to protect the Child of the Prophecy, the original prophecy that is, and now the Children of the New Prophecy."

Draco cringed as he asked, "The Chosen wouldn't happen to be Potter and company would it?"

"Yes, they are. You must do everything in your power to protect him and the others."

Draco took a shot in the dark, (which was pretty hard considering he was surrounded by light) "What happens if, say, one day, I don't know, my wand slips and one of them sort of, um, keel over and die?"

"Then you will be painfully stripped of your power, which will get passed on to another of the Chosen who will then slowly torture you to death with every witness's memory wiped of the incident. But that's just the beginning. Once you're dead you will be damned to hell where you will remain forever in fully aware of the fact that the Cruciatus Cure is a mere tickle that you would do anything for."

Silence reigned again, finally, "…..Ah."

More silence as Draco analyzed his predicament, "I don't have a choice do I?"

"Everyone has a choice, with the exception of very few people."

"Oh yeah," Draco asked, "Who?"

"Harry Potter." responded the voice. Draco looked confused. "Have you heard the original prophecy?" Draco shook his head.

There was a moment's hesitation at this, but the voice quickly continued, "Listen closely, I know that you and Mr. Potter aren't exactly on the best of terms and have probably never been, but now in this time of war you must unite with one another."

Draco sighed.

"You as well as Ms. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, and Ms. Granger will need to help him through the rough times that lie ahead. You must befriend him, gain his trust, and that of all the other Chosen in order to fully tap into your new power. Only when the Chosen are completely united can Mr. Potter defeat Voldemort."

"Why does everybody insist that Potter is going to beat Voldemort? I mean, as much as I hate to admit it, he is a strong wizard, but he just doesn't seem like the one that will take out the Dark Lord, Dumbledore maybe, but not Potter. Just because half the wizarding world thinks that Potter's going to be the one who beats him doesn't mean it's written in stone right?"

"I think," the voice said, "I should reveal to you the prophecy involving Mr. Potter before you continue, and maybe once you hear it you'll understand the full gravity of the situation."

Suddenly the entirety of the white abyss was filled with a harsh sounding voice,

"_**The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…**_

"_**Born to those who have thrice defied him, Born as the seventh month dies…**_

"_**And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, But he will have power the Dark Lord knows not…**_

"_**And either must die at the hand of the other, For neither can live while the other survives…**_

"_**The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"**_

An eerie and disturbing silence filled the vacant white as the severe voice died away, leaving only a strange echo.

"Do you see now?" asked the voice.

"It was talking about P-Potter?" Draco asked, still a little put off from the prophecy.

"Yes."

"And what does it mean, "He will have power the Dark Lord knows not?""

"That is something that you and the rest of the Chosen must figure out on your own."

There was another pause.

"Do you accept?"

Draco thought, and he thought hard, much harder than he had ever done in his life.

He thought of his parents, one of which was dead at the hand of Voldemort. He thought about his deceased mother, the only voice of somewhat sensible reason in his life. Sure she had followed his father, her husband, but that was to be expected, in his family anyway.

Had she had a choice, she probably would have done the same thing. Maybe it was better she was dead.

He thought about his father and anger coursed through his veins. Although he had never shown it, he had always hated his father.

The man had never missed an opportunity to use the Cruciatus on him, just because he had been bested by a Mudblood in school, just because he had been in his father's way, and just because.

Finally he thought about his future and what it would hold for him if he continued down his father's path. He'd most likely be killed by Potter, maybe even by Voldemort before that anyway.

He thought about the alternative, he could almost see it, him finally with friends, finally amongst those who loved him for who he was.

He could see his child, probably a boy, maybe a girl, heck twins even! They would come into the kitchen for dinner, home for the summer from Hogwarts saying enthusiastically,

"Daddy, Daddy! Guess what? We managed to get people to join S.P.E.W. with us!"

Draco blinked. Where had that come from? Deciding not to look into it, Draco sighed.

He had finally come to a turning point…a fork in the road.

One was dark, dangerous, and was radiating pure evil, with just a rather large smidgen of death.

The other was just as dangerous, probably more so, but there was light there. Though it was dim, there was an emotion there he had never felt before, truly anyway. It was warm and inviting and he knew then and there that that was what he wanted.

However long it would take, through all obstacles, it was something he wanted to experience, and something he would brave death just to feel.

He wanted to know what it was like to actually be care free.

He looked up into the white with a determined glint in his eyes.

"Alright, I'll do it." He stated firmly, "I want a future; I want to live, or at least have the chance to. And if that means protecting Potter and his friends and getting them to trust me, I'll do anything."

"Good, very good. You have chosen wisely. Remember only as your trust and love for one another grows will your powers be unleashed. Now, BRACE YOURSELF!"

At first Draco felt nothing, although his muscles tensed. He relaxed slightly, and that was when the convulsions started.

First in his legs, violently shaking, then his arms were contracting, his muscles there cramping in response, and finally his entire body.

He looked like he was having a seizure. He was starting to obtain bruises due to the extreme force with which he was slamming into the ground, a ground that had not been there before.

Draco's eyes remained open, wide and fearful. This allowed him to see the swirling mist converging in the air above him.

There was no color to it the mist was simply there, devoid of anything but movement. Then everything stopped, the mist stopped, Draco stopped, literally.

He couldn't breathe, he couldn't blink, he couldn't even feel the blood pumping though his body.

But as suddenly as everything had stopped, it started moving again and Draco had never wish he couldn't breathe so much in his entire life.

The mist had shot straight down at him, surrounded him and then, he experienced pain. The mist was forcing its way into his body any way it could.

Every pore on his body was being forced open and it felt like millions upon billions of knives piercing his skin. His body was on fire with pain, his open eyes were being gouged out by invisible hands, and every one of his teeth was being violently ripped from his mouth.

Then the voice again, above all his screams, "When you wake, your task begins! But be warned; all is not as it seems!"

And with that, darkness took Draco.

* * *

A/N: Well people, there you have it! Chapter two of Say I. Please ignore any and all spelling mistakes, unless they pertain to a character's name or spell name, if they do please tell me.

Oh yeah, I kind of lied, about the story not following the events in the books! What I meant was the events of THIS story ever happened in the books and will never happen!

Please, please R&R! Reviews really do, believe it or not, spur me, as a writer, to continue updating and writing!

'Til next time, this is HakushoRurouni signing off!


	3. Chapter 3

Well, once again I'm back with chapter three of Say I. But since no one reviewed…

Anyway, I have discovered why my story has not been reviewed or even looked at…there's too many damn good authors out there who update everyday and my story gets sent to like page three right after I update it!

I also realized that I lied when I said this story wouldn't follow the events of the books. Some of the events MIGHT be, such as certain deaths etc, but I won't know until I write it.

Here's chapter three!

Ch.3

* * *

Confused expression clearly evident on his face, and blonde locks, completely devoid of any type of gel and/or oil, was how the small streams of bright sunlight found and roused the sleeping form of one Draco Malfoy.

Despite his best efforts to remain unconscious and stay in the world of sleep as well as to avoid the obvious pain that was sure to have carried over from his dream, he was forced to open his eyes at the sound of shuffling feet.

Blinking at the light Draco half thought he was in the dream again. Apparently, waking up and seeing pure white bed sheets and pillows and curtains and…well, let's just say it took him a while to get his gray eyes to focus and realize that he actually had more than just white as a surrounding now.

He saw that the source of the shuffling and the accursed light was none other than Madam Pomfery, the kindly old medi witch who ran the Hospital Wing. Looking around, Draco deduced that she had only just gotten up, seeing as the antidote cabinet that was always open for the students' benefit was closed and that the candles that were usually lit were long since burnt out.

Draco sighed in relief as there was no pain bestowed upon him. He had made his choice, he remembered, and then the pain had taken him, crippling, violent pain.

He shivered at the thought. He would have to befriend Potter and that was going to be hell in itself. They would think he was just trying to spy for Voldemort. He couldn't think of any way to convince them that he was genuine in his turn.

The only way he could ever think of getting them to have a civil conversation with him would be to stop doing all the teasing and taunting. And he wasn't even sure that would work anymore.

'Damndamndamndamndamndamndamndamn!' he shouted at himself in frustration, slapping himself repeatedly over the head viciously.

"Mr. Malfoy!" shrieked the appalled voice of Madam Pomfery as she strode over and seized his hand, "That will be enough of that! I daresay your head has had enough of a beating already and it doesn't need you senselessly mauling it!"

Draco raised an eyebrow. Did she know about the dream? Then he remembered. That night after his vision, when he had been wondering the halls in a daze, before the Golden Trio had found him nearly unconscious, he had fallen to the floor and hadn't been able to summon enough strength to try and stop himself.

Draco raised a tentative hand and touched it to his forehead, and flinched. Apparently he'd hit the floor very hard.

"Yes, it hurts doesn't it?" Madam Pomfery said at seeing him flinch. She turned to the antidote cupboard and pulled out a goblet full of what appeared to be a liquid but was clearly sparking…violently.

"Drink this Mr. Malfoy." Seeing his wary expression she continued, "I assure you it only looks volatile, once you drink it you'll feel right as rain."

Still suspicious of the foul smelling substance, Draco grudgingly downed the stinging liquid wincing as it burned all the way down his throat.

Almost instantly his body went rigid, straightening out like a board causing his head to slam into the metal bars that were the head board.

"You're determined to give yourself another concussion aren't you?"

Draco ignored her, his face suddenly flashing a brilliant smile. Madam Pomfery turned from Draco, muttering something about Snape and Pick-Me-Up potions.

'So that's what that old bat gave me! Merlin I bloody hate this feeling! I feel all springy and…and…_merry!'_ Draco tried his best to glare daggers at the witch's back but he couldn't even move his facial muscles. 'Bloody hell! I can't move my face!' he screamed at himself, 'I can't move my face! It's stuck, it's stuck! Grrrr…if I wasn't trying to go good I'd hex Pomfery into next bloody week!'

Finally giving up on his futile attempts to move his face, Draco ran a frustrated hand through his blond locks, for once in his life feeling it clear of anything. It certainly felt different…maybe he'd try it out for a couple of weeks.

He managed a sigh; all he needed was for Snape to see him with this idiotic grin on his face….

Seemingly on cue, Severus Snape, resident Potions Master of Hogwarts, Head of Slytherin House, and double-agent against the Dark Lord, strode into the Hospital Wing, as always ever intimidating in every way except for stature and physique.

Yes he was tall but as he was almost always slouching, his height seemed halved at the least. As for physique, well…the poor man was skin and bloody bones. He probably hadn't had a decent meal in years, or maybe it was the little fact of the ever present chance that he would be discovered by the most feared villain in all of history and then be tortured and killed that kept him from gaining any much needed weight.

Even with the black billowing robes he wore he was gaunt and pale. Snape's eyes began to scan the wing in search of something. When they landed on him, Draco assumed Snape had been looking for him, as he was advancing on his position in the hospital bed.

"Good morning Professor!" Draco greeted enthusiastically, manic smile still firmly in place.

Snape raised an eyebrow in mild amusement, "She gave you a Pick-Me-Up potion didn't she?" Draco nodded his head repetitively. "I pity you Draco, that is one of the most vile concoctions that Madam Pomfery has ever had me brew for the infirmary."

Snape stopped as a humorous smirk crept to his face, "It makes the drinker idiotically…happy for half an hour…" Seeing Draco's relieved face, Snape continued, "Well at least that's what I intended the time to be, give or take a couple of minutes. However, I have no idea how many things Madam Pomfery has spiked it with."

Draco visibly paled, but his face remained in a betraying smile. All in all, it was enough to make Snape chuckle.

"Poor you. Well, I've not come here to dawdle; I came here to give you your schedule and to fill you in on what you've missed."

Draco now noticed the parchment that his professor clung to. He gave it to Draco and continued,

"Mr. Malfoy, so far you've missed just under two weeks of term." Draco would've dropped his jaw had it not been cemented in place. "You were out for a while. Now since you were unable to attend classes you are behind everyone, even Weasley, by a considerable margin. Therefore, you will be given a tutor, a student tutor, to help you catch up."

Draco groaned, and it felt rather awkward. "You and said tutor will be excused from classes until the tutor believes you're caught up. That is all Mr. Malfoy good day!"

As Snape started to leave he could not resist, "Oh, and wipe that ridiculous smirk off your face! Your tutor should be here within the hour."

It was lucky for Snape that Madam Pomfery saw Draco stand up in his bed and was able to restrain him or for the first time in a long time, the vacancy in the faculty would not have been for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

About thirty minutes and one calming draught later, Draco was just digesting his head of houses' words.

'I'm getting a tutor? That's just great! How am I supposed to even start trying to befriend Potter if I'm not even going to be in bloody class!'

He inwardly fumed for a few minutes as Madam Pomfery continued bustling about back and forth through the infirmary, "Well," Draco whispered to himself dejectedly, although it came out in a cheery, bright way, "At least Granger will never see me like this."

"Oh, Mr. Malfoy, I forgot to tell you," the medi witch said from across the room, "Your tutor is Ms. Granger.

Draco's eye twitched in annoyance. Apparently the potion was wearing off, but he was too distracted to care.

"What?" Draco politely yelled, "Why Granger?" Madame Pomfery stopped and turned towards him.

"Well, let me think, could it be because she's the smartest student in the school? Or that she has the best marks?" she asked, sarcasm evident in her tone. She shook her head and started to replace the burnt out candles.

'Women…one of these days…." Draco was still seething when he caught sight of the figure that entered the infirmary next.

'Granger.' Draco thought, as his jaw now hung open in awe at the figure of perfection in front of him.

The once bushy brown hair that had resided on her head was now straight and wavy. Her lightly tanned skin and perfect curves and soft but intense brown eyes enthralled him still further.

Draco could only think of one sentence to describe her. Hermione Granger was beautiful. Draco continued to stare at her as she, like Snape scanned the room. After not getting an immediate response or argument from his common sense, Draco became worried.

'Uhh..hello? Anyone there? Hello…aren't you even going to put up a fight. You know, say something along the lines of, "She's not beautiful! She's just a Mudblood! You can't love her!" or something?'

Finally his mind responded, 'Nope. You're completely smitten mate.'

Draco sighed, 'I was afraid of that.'

His sigh caught Hermione's attention as she spotted him and made her way over.

'Great, how am I supposed to talk to one of my archenemies, who I am now infatuated with, and be civil? Especially with my face stuck the way it is!' To put it simply, Draco was in a panic.

"Good morning Malfoy." Hermione said as she sat down in the chair at his bedside in a somewhat reserved voice.

Draco bit his tongue, as it was already going to reply with, 'Good morning yourself you filthy Mudblood.' He had to remind himself again that that was not the way you got a girl to be your girlfriend. Draco mentally slapped himself. What he had meant to think was, was that was not the way to get anybody to trust him.

So, after a few seconds of hesitation he replied, "Good morning Granger." 'There, now that wasn't so hard now was it Draco?'

For the second time that day, there was a raised eyebrow and smirk at Draco's expense.

"You know, Madam Pomfery originally had Professor Snape brew the Pick-Me-Up potion especially for Harry, because he was here so often and was usually out for a week or more. But seeing its effects on you, however much they've already worn off, is simply hilarious! Oh I wish I had a camera!"

Draco again had to mentally stop himself from courteously insulting every one of her relatives all the way down to their bloody family roots.

Instead he opted for a calm, cool and collected, "Stow it Granger. Pomfery told me you're my tutor. Just tell me when and for how long and I'll be there to "learn", albeit reluctantly."

Hermione could do little else but blink in shock. He hadn't even insulted her, which was very unusual for Draco.

'He must really be out of it. But Merlin does he look cute like that! That hair looks so…wow!' Hermione stopped at this, yelling at herself desperately, 'Argue with myself, argue with myself, argue with myself, argue with myself, argue with myself!'

Nothing.

'No…I…I've f-fallen for the enemy! It c-can't be! No! ….But he is incredibly hot!'

Her mind finally woke, but only to encourage her, 'Damn straight!' Hermione giggled…out loud.

"Granger?" Hearing his voice seemed to snap Hermione back to reality.

"What?" she replied hastily, trying to cover up her temporary spacing out.

"Well you were going to tell me where we were going to have the lessons but then you got this faraway look in your eyes…and then you giggled. Bit scary really."

"Oh, shut up!" said Hermione scowling, "Well, I don't see why we have to go anywhere. I mean we could just have your lessons here. I'm sure Madam Pomfery would provide you with plenty of Pick-Me-Up potion if you started falling asleep while I was teaching."

She sighed, almost relishing the thought but said, "But I doubt even Voldemort is THAT cruel."

Draco stared at her. She had said The Dark Lord's name, and she had joked about him. Maybe Potter and his friends were braver than he gave them credit for…or they were just ignorant to what kinds of hell he could create.

He knew that Potter was one of the few who knew exactly what kinds of hell Voldemort could cause, just like him. The rest of the wizarding world was completely oblivious to it.

'But then,' Draco thought, 'Ignorance is bliss.'

"Malfoy?"

"Hmm..What?" Draco asked shaking his head.

"Now who's the one spacing out and giggling?" Hermione said accusingly.

"I did not giggle Granger." Draco retaliated.

"Sure. Anyway, I said we are just going to have the lessons in the Head's dormitory."

Draco nodded, "Right…Where are they?"

Hermione sighed, "That's right; you never made it to our dorms."

Draco huffed, "Well it wasn't like I didn't try. I got…what…a third of the way there before I just collapsed? And that wasn't half bad considering my condition."

Hermione shook her head, "Just wait here for another minute." With that, she left the bedside and walked into Madam Pomfery's now occupied office.

This left Draco with time to think and remember what had happened before he'd passed out.

'Let's see, she said "our dorms" so I take it that means I'm Head Boy. Oh yeah….that's why I went to find Granger on the train. But everything's blurry after that…the voice in my dream said that I made a prophecy…I'm gonna have to ask Granger about it.'

Hermione came back at this point, "Madam Pomfery says you're free to go as soon as you're ready."

"Thank Merlin!" Draco shouted, his face now completely free of the Pick-Me-Up effects, "I thought I was going to be subjected to more tor…" he saw Madam Pomfery exiting her office, "Er…I mean more kind and caring mother like love!"

"Now Mr. Malfoy, one last check before you go." She ran her wand slowly over the length of his body. "Well, I can see nothing visibly wrong and my wand says there's nothing internal, so once you're changed you can leave."

Five minutes and a bit of stumbling later found Draco and Hermione walking the currently deserted hallways of Hogwarts that would lead them to their quarters.

"So what's the entrance?" Draco asked, looking around as they came to a stop.

"Over here." Said Hermione, walking over to a rather large portrait, moving of course, which depicted a ballroom filled with hundreds of people in the back round all dancing and attending, what appeared to be a masquerade ball.

What caught his eye though, was the couple in the middle, who were undoubtedly the focus of the painting. They were elaborately decorated, from their intricately detailed masks all the way down to their seemingly gleaming, polished shoes.

The woman turned her head from her partner and asked, in a soft but full voice, "Password?"

Draco looked at Hermione, "Vertumnus."

The painting swung away from the wall, like a door, and admitted them. What Draco saw stunned him into momentary silence. This common room was even better than anything at Malfoy Manor, and that was saying something since his mother had been obsessed with having the best of everything.

He had just woken up and the couch already looked inviting, its fluffy pillows and cushions almost beckoning him to go and lie down. There were two different tables in the corner of the room, where they would be able to sit and do homework. 'Or other things..' suggested his mind.

Draco sighed. He was going to have to get used to his mind making suggestive comments like that…not that he minded but really, a guy shouldn't be thinking like that all the time. 'Just most of the time.' 'SHUT UP!'

The fireplace was set into the wall next to the couches and comfortable looking chairs as it had been in the Slytherin common room. There was infinitely Draco could describe, but he was fine with just going over to the extremely overstuffed couch and collapse on it.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked, watching him fall onto the couch.

"Catching up on some much needed sleep."

"You've been asleep for two bloody weeks and you're telling me that you need to catch up on your beauty rest! You are never going to catch up in class if you slack off like this!"

"First off," Draco retorted, "There is a slight difference between being asleep and being in a bloody coma Granger! Second, I know all that I need to know for classes. There's not much that I don't already know that I haven't learned from my family's library! So you don't need to worry! I don't know why Snape bothered giving me a tutor; he should know that I don't need one! Especially a M…."

Draco stopped himself, 'Think you prat! If you keep insulting her, there is no way you can ever get her to love you…er…I mean…befriend her and Potter.'

Hermione was glaring at Malfoy now, anger coursing through her, waiting for Malfoy to finish his rant.

"I-I…Granger…I'm…I'm sorry."

Hermione stared in shock and disbelief. Draco Malfoy, the bane of her existence, the arrogant git of Slytherin house, her secret crush, had just apologized…to HER!

"What?" she asked, hardly daring to believe it.

"I'm s-sorry." Draco muttered again, trying desperately to keep his eyes on the floor. He didn't know if he wanted to look at Granger right now or not.

"Fine. Apology accepted Malfoy."

Draco sighed in relief and asked, "What time is it Granger?"

Hermione checked her watch, "It's just after nine. Why?"

"Because I'm bloody hungry and I could smell the remaining auras from breakfast coming up here!" He looked at her, "Please let's go get something to eat!"

Hermione, despite her slightly agitated mood couldn't help but laugh a little at the spectacle Draco was making of himself. She shook her head,

"Fine, we'll go down to the kitchens and get something, I think they have cleared the Great Hall by now. C'mon." With that she turned on her heel and made for the portrait hole.

"Wait!" shouted Draco, who got up from his place on the couch and ran to catch up to Hermione, "How do you know where the kitchens are? I thought only the Headmaster knew things like that."

Hermione snorted, "When you have friends like Harry and Ron, you tend to find these things out unintentionally, especially when you add Ginny into the mix! Then its just catastrophe!"

Draco smirked at this, "You know, I've been wondering…does Potter fancy Weasel's sister? Or is it just her who fancies him?"

This question brought on an immediate change in Hermione's demeanor. Her eyes blazed as she rounded on him, hissing, "Why do want to know that? Just so you can go crawling back to you master hoping for a reward!"

Draco was stunned.

"I knew you weren't sorry about anything, now I have to go through Merlin knows how many weeks with you, you little ferret faced liar! I can't believe I actually thought you were sincere! Just get away from me!"

She made to leave, but Draco came out of his stupor in time to catch her arm.

"Wait! You stupid…I mean.." Draco slapped himself, "Just hear me out!"

Hermione wrenched her arm from his grasp, "I don't want to hear you out you greasy little git! You're just going to give me some idiotic story about how your life has been so affected by Voldemort and how you want to get revenge on him for what he's done to you and that you want to join Harry and help him in the war!"

Draco blinked, "Well…you pretty much hit the nail on the head Granger."

"You see! You're just an arrogant little….what?" Hermione had stopped mid sentence.

"You're right. I do want revenge on Voldemort for what he's done to me, for killing my mother, for influencing my father, and for making my life hell even before I was born!"

It was Hermione's turn to blink.

"That's right…my life's been like Potter's since birth, although his is slightly…different." Draco said.

"His life is worse than yours ever was or will be Malfoy!" Hermione shouted.

"Is it? Did his parents ever neglect him? Did his parents ever abuse him over and over again? Did his parents ever say, right to his face, that they hated him because he was weak, because he had been bested by a Muggle born? Did his father ever curse him for the fun of it?"

Hermione was silent, looking down at her feet ashamed.

"No they didn't. So what if he's got the most feared dark wizard in history breathing down his bloody back! So what if he's constantly in danger because of something he couldn't control! So what!" Draco shouted.

Hermione looked up at him, "You're a selfish heartless bastard you know that?"

"You know why I'm like that? Always making fun of you? Of the Weasleys and of Potter? Do you know why I'm selfish? Do you!"

Hermione shook her head.

"Because all of you have something that I never had ever! You love and are loved by every one! You've got a family that loves you, you've always had a family that loved you! And if that wasn't enough, you befriend Weasley and gain his family's love as well!"

Hermione, for the first time in her life, had no response.

"You have people that have always and will always be there for you no matter what happens, no matter what you do, no matter how you act! Even Potter had his parents' love! He still remembers it even though he never really knew his parents, because of that scar he is reminded that even though he is hunted by the Dark Lord, that his mother loved him! That she would die for him!

"That's something that I never had! My mother wouldn't have died for me! And my father? He would've been the one to kill!"

Tears were now streaming down Draco's face as he continued to shout.

"So I'm gonna ask you again! Is it so wrong that I want love? Is it so wrong to wish for it? For something that I've never experienced? Why the hell can't someone love me for who I am! Why the hell can't I love someone? The only person I've ever felt love for was my mother, but of course, she didn't give a damn about me and is dead now!"

Draco fell to his knees and was banging his fists on the floor.

"Why Hermione? Why? Please tell me….you know everything…so why can't someone, anyone, love me?"

Hermione could do little else but fall to her knees and start berating herself. 'Look what you did you stupid idiot! You broke him! You made him lose it! You reminded him how miserable you already knew he was!'

She looked at the trembling, racking body of Draco Malfoy as he continued to beat his fist into the floor softly asking why.

For the first time in her life, she, Hermione Granger, was feeling pity for Draco Malfoy. The one who had harassed her for six long years. But, what he said was true, everything he had thrown at her, over all those years, she had gotten over because of her friends' love for her.

How they had always wanted to help her. How they had always wanted to beat the crap out of Malfoy for her. And how they had always, always loved her.

That was what she wanted to do for Draco right now. To love him. To be there for him when he needed her. All she wanted to do was comfort him, seeing him like this was extremely unnerving.

She moved next to him and wrapped her arms slowly around him bringing him closer to her.

He responded hesitantly. Why was she doing this for him? Was she just trying to get him to stop bawling his eyes out? Or was she just trying to hurt him more?

Then suddenly he didn't care anymore, his arms wrapped around Hermione's waist, holding on for dear life as if afraid she was going to leave him too. He started to cry into her shoulder even harder.

Hermione could not believe it. Draco Malfoy was in so many ways, worse off then Harry ever was and she was only now realizing it. She felt him grip her tighter as he put his head on her shoulder. She didn't mind all she could do was whisper to him,

"Shh. It's okay Draco. Shh...it's alright. I'm here…nothing's going to happen." She rubbed his back soothingly, hoping to quiet his sobs and ease his pain. "Oh Draco! I'm so sorry. I…I…" she couldn't think of what to say next.

And then, it hit her. She thought it over before she said it, but she knew she needed to do this, for herself, and for…Draco.

"Draco? Listen to me. Listen to me, I promise, no matter what happens, no matter what you do, and no matter what anyone says, I'll love you." There she had said it. She felt his sobs soften. "I'll be there for you when you need me. I'll love you for who you are…I'll love you Draco Malfoy."

His sobs that had once racked his body and hurt him so, stopped and were replaced by sniffles.

Quietly, so that nobody but Hermione could hear Draco whispered, "Thank you Hermione. For giving me a chance, that's all I need. Thank you."

And finally, all the strength left his body as he fell asleep in Hermione's arms.

* * *

A/N: Well, what'd you think? A little too soon for Draco to admit everything like that? If that's what you think, then I sort of have to agree with you. Originally this wasn't how I planned to end this chapter but…well…

Anyway, I'm happy with the way it turned out and that's all I can say in my defense! Please drop a review! I need any kind of feedback that I can get!

'Til next time! HakushoRurouni signing off!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Well, I'm back and really sorry about the delay! I've just been so caught up in trying to get ideas for future chapters for this story. Plus, with the added distraction of school, I lose my daylight hours.

Anyway, here's chapter four!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter! J.K. Rowling does and she bloody well bring Harry and Ginny back together!

* * *

Ch.4

It had not been but two weeks since, what the Gryffindors had dubbed, "The Bat-Bogey Incident" occurred, that the morning sun found Harry, Ron, and Ginny entering the Great Hall of Hogwarts, and sitting down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast.

After serving themselves, the trio began eating.

"Has anyone seen Hermione yet?" Ron asked while shoveling a rather large spoonful of cereal into his already full mouth.

Ginny nodded, "I spoke to her this morning before I met up with you two," As she was talking, Ron flinched and almost unconsciously swatted the air around him.

Ginny and Harry rolled their eyes, "Really Ron, it has been _two weeks _since I hexed you! Can you please get over it?"

Ron flinched again but prevented himself from swatting at nothing.

"Ignore him," Harry said with a shake of his head, "You were saying Ginny?"

Ginny threw him a brief smile before she continued.

Harry could not stop the rather profound flip-flop that his stomach performed at this. Inwardly shaking it off, Harry decided he would ponder later and listen now.

"Anyway, when I saw her, she said she had something to do at the Hospital Wing this morning, and that she might not be in class today." She bit into a piece of bacon, which Harry was afraid to admit, was kind of sexy.

'Oh Merlin! Stop Potter, STOP! You're talking about a piece of bloody bacon!'

'That Ginny is eating in a very, very, VERY… "interesting" way…for lack of a better word.'

'Blimey,' Harry thought, 'my hormones must have finally woken up! I'm fantasizing about Ginny….**_eating a piece of bacon!' _**

'I bet you wish…'

'DOWN BOY!' Harry shouted mentally, aghast at what he was just about to think.

"Harry?"

He was shaken from his thoughts at Ginny's concerned voice.

"W-what?" he stuttered.

"You tell us mate," Ron said, "You just went kind of, well…blank there and started staring at Ginny."

Harry tried to hide his blush, "Uhh…nothing, it was nothing…I just got erm…distracted."

Ron smirked. Ginny looked as if she was debating whether or not to run.

"What? About the piece of bacon…or my sister?"

'Both actually.' Was Harry's inner response, however, "No, I was just wondering why Hermione would willingly miss classes. It's odd isn't it?"

This seemed to get Ron and Ginny back onto the Hermione topic.

'Oh good save there Potter, bloody good save!'

"You know, now that you mention it Harry," Ginny said, "That is kind of strange. I mean, the only reason she would miss classes on purpose would be because she was told to by a teacher, and even then they'd have to force her."

"You've got a point Ginny," Ron said, "But whatever she's doing, she's going to be a pain when she comes back!" Ron scrunched up his face and said in a high, falsetto voice that sounded more like Umbridge than Hermione, "Ron I can't believe you! I've only been gone for a day and already you've slacked off your N.E.W.T. studies!"

Harry smirked at this. Ginny's hand went to her side; almost as if she was going for her wand and in response, Ron flew under the table faster than a speeding Snidget.

Harry and Ginny looked at each other and burst out laughing. People were starting to stare at them, seeing as they were holding onto each other for support and were both by now an unhealthy shade of purple due to lack of oxygen.

By now Ron had reemerged from under the table and joined the others in staring at Harry and Ginny, who were now in a rather…awkward position.

Harry's head lay on Ginny's chest and Ginny, whether unconsciously or not, was holding his head and pulling him closer.

Ron smirked and shouted, "Oi Potter! Get your head off of my sister's chest!"

Immediately, the laughing ceased and Harry and Ginny sprang apart as if they'd been violently shocked by the other. The whole of Gryffindor table was now at the two bright red faces; some laughing, a couple scowling, and the rest utterly confused.

When it looked like Harry was about to say something Ron beat him to it, "What Potter? "Soft" was it?" This only caused Harry to glow an even deeper shade of red which in turn was now enabling him to radiate heat.

Ginny was thankful that none of the other students knew what Ron meant, but of course it hadn't been too hard to figure out. Snickers were heard from the male population of the table and gasps from the female half.

"_Ron Weasley_," Ginny hissed in a low and severely deadly voice, "_If you EVER want to produce children, be free of Bat-Bogey's, and continue to be afraid of spiders for the rest of your life, continue. I DARE YOU!" _

Ron paled to an extremely dead looking white and got up from the table quickly, "Uhh…um…I'll see potions later….in lunch meet you!"

Ginny, satisfied with how she had dealt with Ron, now turned her wrath on the other occupants of the table.

"What're all you lot looking at?" As one, the table turned and looked the other way, trying desperately to make it look like they hadn't heard a word.

Harry looked at Ginny, "Ginny, I'm sorry…" However when Ginny turned to him there was no sign of anger in her chocolate brown eyes.

"Harry it's alright…it was an accident. You weren't the only one involved," she blushed slightly, "I was holding your head where it was."

They laughed nervously and when they stopped there was an awkward silence as they struggled to think of what to say next.

Then in unison,

"Harry."

"Ginny."

"What?"

"What?"

They both realized what they'd done and laughed again, this time their laughter not forced. When they stopped, Harry glanced at his watch.

"Blimey Ginny! We've got to go or we'll be late for Transfiguration!" Grabbing his bag, Harry got up waiting for Ginny to do so as well, and the two left the Great Hall together on their way to McGonagall's class.

"Do you think Ron will be there?" Ginny asked with a smirk on her lips.

"Well," Harry muttered considering this thoughtfully, "It depends, whose wrath would he rather face? On the one hand, he's got McGonagall's for skipping, or he's got to deal with yours for going to class….hmm. To be completely honest, I'd rather take McGonagall than you Ginny, no offense."

"None taken," Ginny said with a smirk, "I like to strike fear into the hearts of people that deserve it."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "So what have I done?" He saw Ginny's face fall for a second, but then she recovered.

'For still not noticing me.' She wanted to scream, but instead opted for the silent smirk.

* * *

As they entered the classroom both saw Ron sitting in the corner with Neville trying to look as small as possible. And seeing as he was the tallest one in the class, and had extremely violently colored red hair, he was failing miserably.

Quickly they sat at one of the tables in the front of the class, not wanting McGonagall to snap at them.

"Good morning class." McGonagall said crisply, as if she'd been up for hours, which Harry thought, she probably had.

There were a couple muttered attempts at "good mornings" and scattered "mm-hm's" but neither was successful.

McGonagall shook her head but continued anyway, "For the rest of this year, this class, the best of the best, my N.E.W.T. students, will be learning how to become fully fledged Animagus."

That did it.

Immediately several students' head shot up and McGonagall winced at the slight sounds of "pops" she heard. It was kind of disturbing when students' necks cracked like that. However, she continued undeterred,

"Becoming an Animagus takes time, and is very strenuous. While every wizard or witch can become one, many choose not to because of the amount of work required to put into it."

There were a couple of groans at this.

"However, this class, is not like most common witches and wizards. You, as I said before, are the best of the best, the brightest Transfiguration class that Hogwarts has to offer. Where others would simply quit after getting bored, you have an astounding amount of tenacity, which I'm sure is helped along by Potter and those D.A. meetings, correct?"

This warranted a chuckle from the students. McGonagall continued,

"I expect each of you, by the end of this semester, to be able to at least have a basic understanding of the art." She looked around the classroom, she still had every one's attention, all twelve of them, two missing but would be caught up soon enough.

"And that is only going to be if you are lazy and slack off. If you put effort into this, then I should be seeing one or two of you able to transform around Christmas."

There were a few raised eyebrows at this, but McGonagall continued,

"Now, before we start going too far into depth, I want to dispel a common theory about transforming. There is in fact, no limit on the number of forms one can have, with the exception of the body's limit."

A raised hand, "Yes Banks?"

"Professor, what do you mean by the body's physical limit?"

"That's exactly it Banks, your body's threshold for pain. You see, when a person transforms, they are reshaping their skeletal structure, their bones either compacting or extending to coincide with their form.

"But when a person wants to have another form and the form finds them, their skeletal structure must again reshape, except this time, due to their other form, it is much more painful.

"Having already been changed once, the skeleton begins to take on certain characteristics of one's Animagus form. For example bones will be lighter and more easily broken when a person is a bird or small creature, however in exchange, that person will become faster and more agile; while a person who transforms into a bear or a lion will have stronger and bigger bones and will have markedly increased strength, but will be slower and stockier.

"There is one exception to this however, the multiple forms anyway, if a wizard or witch with great ability is able to transform into a magical creature, such as a Phoenix, their bones can only, and will only reshape for that one form and will not allow themselves to even attempt to change to another form.

"The characteristics of all magical creatures are just so potent, that changing to another form is simply impossible."

At this, the bell rang signaling the end of the class.

"Homework! I want a foot of parchment on the basic theory of becoming an Animagus! Due tomorrow!" McGonagall shouted over the bustle to get to the door.

"You know," Harry said to Ginny as they made their way toward Defense Against the Dark Arts, "I never thought that they would teach us how to become Animagus here. I thought that was something you had to do on your own."

Ginny nodded in agreement, "This war must be a lot more dangerous than we thought it was if they're going to teach us this stuff." She stopped as she finished, looking around as if searching for someone.

"Have you seen Ron?" she asked.

Harry smirked, "Not since we left Transfiguration. You must have really scared the crap out of him Ginny!"

Ginny smiled, "Yes, I can be rather intimidating when I want to be. Serves him right, trying to humiliate you in front of your own house!"

It was a rather long, but swift walk to the Defense classroom, which allowed them time to talk, "So what do you think Vimes'll have us learn today?" Ginny asked, as they turned down the long corridor where the classroom was situated.

"Don't know, I just hope it's something I can use against Voldie!"

Ginny giggled. She was glad Harry was able to joke about Voldemort and the situation he was in with him, it gave her confidence.

"I hope it's something I can use to hex Ron into next week!"

Harry chuckled at this,

'Typical Ginny,' he thought as they reached the classroom and opened the door, 'Bent on getting revenge….on….'

Harry's inner monologue was cut short as he caught sight of the man sitting behind the desk. The aura of raw power, magical or not, that Harry could feel surrounding him was mind boggling. If he was the only one who noticed this, he would be shocked.

Harry's eyes met with those of the stranger. Harry gasped.

The man's eyes were an alarming electric blue. But what had made Harry gasp wasn't the color, but rather, what they looked like.

The eyes themselves looked regular, or rather, they would have been had the iris's not held a blue cloud like fog instead of the usual colored ring around a black center. It was like looking at the light at the end of a very, very, very long tunnel.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley glad you could join us. Let's see, you're two minutes late so, forty points from Gryffindor. Now please take your seats."

Without any sort of argument, both Harry and Ginny made their way towards the only two empty chairs in the front of the classroom.

"So that's every one except Malfoy and Granger then." Although neither Harry nor Ginny showed it, both were deeply disturbed by the stranger's eyes.

They needn't have worried as half the class was seemingly huddling as far back as they could to get away from the man.

"Right, so as I was saying, I'm your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lee."

Here Lee paused, Harry wondered why but then Lee asked, "Yes Longbottom?"

"S-sorry sir but I was just wondering…what happened to Professor Vimes?" was the shy response.

This caused Harry to think. What had happened to Professor Vimes? Just yesterday they had been having fun while learning to prolong the shield charm.

There was a visible sag in the new Professor's stature as he replied, "Professor Vimes…well I'm not supposed to tell you….Oh bloody hell! Personally I don't give a damn about what the Headmaster thinks should be kept quiet from you all, so I'm going to tell you the truth."

He sighed heavily, "It was only a minor attack, so I doubt there will be anything in the Prophet about it. Yesterday night, Professor Vimes was at the Hog's Head meeting an old friend. When they were done, it was well past midnight and they went their separate ways. But Vimes never made even made it to the Three Broomsticks.

"He was murdered in cold blood at exactly one twenty five a.m. this morning. According to witnesses, it was two Death Eaters that got him, one of which he managed to stun before he was hit in the back by the other with the Avada Kedavra. Before Aurors could even make it to the scene the two Death Eaters were gone and Sam Vimes had been dead for thirty minutes."

After he finished there was a stunned silence, punctured by a few stifled sobs from a couple of girls.

Harry merely stared hard at his new Professor. A new respect was growing inside of him for this man. That he was willing to tell them the truth put him in better standings with Harry than Dumbledore at this point.

Although Harry showed no external signs of grief or anger, he was a little shaken up. This had really hit home and had brought the full gravity of the war along with it. The attack had happened in Hogsmeade, not more than a ten minute walk from Hogwarts.

Another minute of silence passed before Lee spoke again,

"Professor Dumbledore was able to come up with me so quickly because he had long ago found that he should always have a backup in mind.

"With that said, I want to tell you what I will be going over with you this term. For one, we'll be studying and learning physical combat, muggle fighting if you will. Another thing will be the on the psychological front; how to use your mind and your opponent's mind to your advantage."

This intrigued Harry and from what he could tell, Ginny as well seeing as she sat up at attention.

"My goal is to have every one of you, by the end of this year, to be able to utilize both of these things in combat as well as a way to hone your dueling skills. Now seeing as we have only ten minutes left, I'm going to give you all a quick quiz. How this is going to work is, when I ask you to say something, you do it, no matter what it is alright?"

There were several nods. Professor Lee walked up to Harry and said, "Mr. Potter, I want you to say the name of the Dark Lord."

Harry looked up at the man, and immediately wished he hadn't as his pupil less eyes stared back at him.

"Voldemort."

A pause and then, "Good, forty points to Gryffindor. Ms. Weasley, now you, say his name."

"Voldemort." Ginny said coolly unaffected by the stupid fear that affected every other student in the class.

"Very good, another forty points to Gryffindor." As Professor Lee moved on, Harry and Ginny looked at each other as they realized they'd just gotten back the forty points they'd lost at the beginning of class…and then some.

"Ms. Abbott, say Voldemort." Harry and Ginny turned in time to see Hannah Abbott, a seventh year Hufflepuff, gulp. "V-V-He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!" she muttered.

Professor Lee's cloud like eyes darkened, "Ten points….from Hufflepuff for attempting Abbott."

Hannah gasped, but quickly shut her mouth. Professor Lee's face would only continue to grow darker as his scowl grew.

He went through four Hufflepuffs, six Ravenclaws, eight Gryffindors, and seven Slytherins before he came to Ron.

By this time every house had lost points and not one had earned any, meaning that they were all worse off than before.

"Mr. Weasley, say Voldemort." Ron, who had already lost a lot of color from his face, went completely white as he closed his eyes.

"…"

"Mr. Weasley?" Ron looked up.

"I c-can't sir, I j-just can't!"

Lee shook his head, "One hundred points from Gryffindor Weasley, for the most pathetic attempt all day." Professor Lee turned and walked back to the front of the class.

"What you people are going to have to learn is that this is war, and that right now, if you were to go into battle, you would lose in seconds. You must learn to accept your fears! You must learn to cope with them and be able to move on, to continue.

"The only two people who managed to say it were Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley! The rest of you are too pathetic to say a name." He scanned the room intently with his eyes, "What's funny in that right now you fear a name. And you're going to continue to fear it until it's too late.

"You'll realize that you should have feared other things, things that are out there as well as Voldemort, things that will kill you, things that you should have been paying attention to instead of cowering in a corner at the sound of a name."

Silence filled the room, an eerie and disturbed silence. The bell rang signaling the end of class and the start of lunch.

"Homework, I want a foot and a half of parchment on why you think we should or should not incorporate muggle fighting into this class along with dueling. Due Wednesday though, seeing as it might be harder for some of you than for others. Dismissed!"

It was a somber and subdued group that made its way out of the classroom walking towards the Great Hall.

Each student seemed deeply immersed in his or her own thoughts. Sitting down at the Gryffindor table, Harry Ginny, and Ron were probably the first to recover.

* * *

"So what do you think?" Harry waited for Ginny to respond.

She blinked, "Well…I…did you feel…?" she asked trailing off.

Harry nodded, "All that power? Yeah, that and his eyes are what freaked me out. He didn't have any pupils Gin!"

Ginny shuddered, "Yeah, don't remind me. What about his test?"

Harry smirked, "It was the easiest test I've ever taken in Defense, you?"

Ginny laughed, "Same here. And I get what he means, Professor Lee I mean, it really is pathetic how none of the others could say Voldemort. Out of all of them, the closest was Neville with Voldemo! Honestly, it's just a name!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" said Ron cautiously approaching, "That was the worst class I've ever had since…ever! I almost passed out when he tried to get me to say it!"

Harry shook his head, but it was Ginny who spoke, "Why do you fear the name Voldemort Ron?" Ginny asked, ignoring Ron as he flinched.

"Because….because…Oh what does it matter why I fear it?" Ron growled frustrated.

"Professor Lee was right Ron," Ginny said softly, "You are pathetic. You don't even know why you fear the name Voldemort!"

Several other students overheard her and shuddered.

Ginny growled in exasperation, got up, and left the Great Hall.

"What's her problem?" Ron asked.

Harry sighed at his friend's stupidity. The rest of lunch was spent discussing the benefits of muggle fighting, or in Ron's case, insulting it, seeing as it was below his standards.

"Merlin come off it Ron!" Harry said in annoyance, "Do you really think it's going to matter what you consider below you when you're fighting for your life against the Death Eaters and Voldemort? Save it for your bloody essay!"

Ron flinched again. Harry was gritting his teeth in anger, "For Merlin's bloody sake Ron! It's a name, a bloody anagram! Get the hell over it!"

With that, Harry now sped out of the Great Hall.

"Blimey, what is it with people today? They're just blowing up in my face for no reason! I mean really!" Ron said disbelievingly.

Out in the hallway, Harry was still fuming as he made his way toward the Gryffindor Common room. After giving the Fat Lady the password he stormed into the spacious room and flung himself onto the empty couch.

Ignoring the small "Off!" that the inanimate object made, Harry continued to rage, "Bloody idiot, can't even admit he's scared…..stupid git thinks….stubborn ass!"

A small, slightly muffled, "Ahem!" jarred him from his one sided rant.

"Wha…GINNY! I'm sorry! I didn't see you there!" Harry apologized, jumping off of her small form. "How did you get under me anyway?"

"Well, like you I was more than a little pissed off at Ron and came back here to vent. I was sitting here and cursing him out just like you were when I heard the portrait hole open, saw you coming, tried to get out of the way but ended up getting sat on."

"Ginny I'm sorry I…"

"No worries Harry! You were just mad at Ron! I can understand you ignoring little, insignificant me."

Harry started, "No Ginny I wouldn't…I didn't…I can't ignore you! I can't even get you out of my head!"

'Whoops, went a little too far there Potter. But no better way to confess you undying love for her than by accident.'

Harry smacked himself, angry that he had said that, Ginny probably though him to be a pervert now.

Ginny stared at him with a light blush tinting her cheeks, "What did you say?"

Harry turned an extremely dark shad of red which was undoubtedly visible from outer space.

"I…uhh…that is…I…um…" Harry couldn't form a sentence, "Um…IshouldprobablybegoingtoclassandIdidn'tmeanthatinapervertedwayIloveyouGinnyWeasleybye!"

Harry then ran, well, he actually flew out of Gryffindor Tower on his way to potions.

Ginny couldn't help it; she had heard every word of his rifled sentence. She grabbed a pillow and screamed into it in excitement.

"He said he loves me! He said he loves me!"

If a new prophecy and the "Soft" incident on the train weren't enough to make this year more interesting, this, in Ginny's humble opinion, certainly was.

* * *

A/N: Well there you go people! How'd you like that as a change of pace? Please tell me if I've misspelled any of the characters' names so I can fix them!

Oh yeah, and please drop a review! Much love to all those of you who have reviewed, namely GoldenWing and Us Two Squibs!

This chapter was a bit delayed due to the fact that my father made me get off the computer every time I got on to type it up so that he could do his own stuff!

Oh, finally, I'd like to recommend a good book I read over the weekend. It's called The Thief Lord, and it's worth it! Trust me!

'Til next time, HakushoRurouni out!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Well, here's another chapter for Say I. This just in….I've decided to get up off my arse and start writing again.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter….but J.K. bloody well bring Harry and Ginny back together or….else….eh nevermind.

Forgive any spelling errors, I put this up before going to school!

Ch. 5

* * *

About a week after Draco's breakdown found Hermione reading quietly in the common room of the Heads dormitory.

In truth she wasn't reading, just looking at the text through unfocused eyes as she thought about things. She looked over at the couch to her left. Lying there asleep was Draco Malfoy.

He had been nicer since the incident but he was usually timid when it came to conversation.

'He's getting a lot better though.' She thought as she examined his smooth face and blond locks, 'I wonder if he'll consider going to the kitchens tonight. He really should get out of here.'

In fact ever since his breakdown, Draco had either been asleep or he had been trying to focus on what Hermione was teaching him. Not that he was struggling though. He just didn't like to sit in any one place for longer than a couple of minutes.

Although he was gradually learning to trust her, he still didn't like to talk about much of anything if it wasn't necessary.

This was so uncharacteristic of the Draco she was used to, that it scared her almost as much as when she'd seen him crying, so vulnerable, so…afraid.

Hermione shivered involuntarily. She wasn't used to being the only person that a person trusted. She sighed. She had promised to love him, had promised to be there for him because nobody else had, and she would do just that.

Watching him, she knew she would never have to protect him from Ron and Harry and….well….everybody else. She would have to be his anchor until people started seeing him in this new light and as the new person he was.

Glancing down at her watch, she saw it was half past ten. "Good," she whispered, "Every one should be in their dorms by now." Closing her book softly and slipping on her trainers, Hermione walked towards Draco's sleeping form.

Kneeling down she was once again transfixed by his handsome face. She reached a hand to his face and gently began to brush his blond locks out of his eyes.

'Merlin,' Hermione mentally gasped, 'I can't believe how different he looks while he's sleeping. He looks almost…happy.'

She shook herself out of her thoughts and said softly, so as not to startle him, "Draco? Draco c'mon it's time to get up."

There was a small grumble.

"Please? You've hardly eaten anything all week! And you're getting frightfully thin." She was still stroking his forehead when he answered.

"What?" It was a soft, puzzled question. He opened his eyes, felt Hermione's hand on his head and then closed them again, sighing in content. "I don't want to go to the Great Hall Hermione." Draco argued, although in a soft, almost playful tone.

"No I'm going to take you down to the kitchens alright?" Draco nodded as he slowly got up. Hermione stood, taking her hand from his forehead as he responded,

"'kay." Draco too put on his shoes and together they left their common room.

It was after curfew, so they had to be quiet. It wasn't that they weren't allowed out, being Head Boy and Girl, but they were only supposed to do so in emergencies.

They made it all the way and met no disturbances along the way. They were walking down the corridor leading to their destination when Draco asked,

"You know 'Mione, I never did ask you…how _do _you know where the kitchens are?"

Hermione stifled a giggle as she reached a hand out to tickle the pear.

"Well, when you're friends with Ron, Harry, Fred, George, and Ginny, it's hard not to know about these things. I mean if I needed to, I could get out of the castle and into Hogsmeade in a matter of minutes!"

Draco laughed. The pear turned into a green door handle and Hermione pulled it open.

As they walked in, Hermione immediately stopped moving as a small blur shot from the floor straight into her midriff.

"Ms. Hermione has come to visit Dobby again! I is wanting to thank you for the hats you has been making Dobby!" Hermione, after getting over the shock of having all of the air knocked rather abruptly out of her, managed a laugh,

"Dobby! I just came in yesterday and you said the same thing. You don't need to keep thanking me! You don't need to keep thanking me!"

"Oh but Dobby must miss! It is only right for a house elf to be thankful for something they is receiving!" answered the over exuberant elf.

Hermione sighed, "If you insist Dobby, if you insist." She looked over at Draco who was staring at the elf with wide, fearful eyes. She was about to ask what was wrong when Dobby said,

"And who is it that miss Hermione brings with…her.." as the elf looked at Draco, a frightened recognition sparking in his large tennis ball green eyes.

"Why…why is miss Granger…Master Malfoy!" The elf began frantically looking around, as if getting ready to bolt.

Draco however, seemed to know what was coming for he shot out a hand and managed to snag Dobby's arm just as the elf was going to throw himself in what promised to be a painful trip toward the wall.

At Draco's touch, Dobby flinched and started shaking violently, eyes closed, obviously expecting pain. Draco slowly pulled his hand away and spoke,

"Dobby?" The small elf continued to cringe. Draco looked at Hermione seeking guidance of any kind but saw only the tell tale steely glint in her eyes that told him he had to do this on his own.

He sighed, "Dobby, please look at me."

Apparently the use of the word "please" was enough to catch the elf's curiosity. Dobby turned his head and opened his eyes,

"Y-yes M-master Draco?" Draco had to stop himself from jumping back in shock at all the emotions that the small creature held in his eyes.

He took another deep breath before beginning.

"Look Dobby…I know…I know that we never…hit it off, but…well," he paused here, thinking, "I…I'm sorry Dobby. When I was younger-I was easily "influenced", for lack of a better word, and I didn't know…I didn't think…well, I was an inconsiderate, self-centered, abusing ass to put it simply."

Dobby blinked at that, never having heard his old master speak ill of himself before.

"I know saying sorry will never be enough, but…Dobby, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Draco at this point was trying to restrain himself from shedding tears, "And, even if you don't forgive me, which I know you probably won't, I just want you to know that I'm different now. I'm nothing like my father. Again Dobby, I'm sorry."

During his apology Draco had gone to his knees so he would be at Dobby's eye level.

It seemed that at that moment, the entire kitchen had gone quiet, as if waiting to hear Dobby's answer.

After what seemed like ages, the elf answered. It wasn't a soft response, like one you would expect when a person accepts your apology, nor was it a firm 'Get the bloody hell out of my face,' retort like the one you would get from your worst enemy. It was a completely different that neither Draco nor Hermione expected.

Dobby's eyes filled with unshed tears and he leapt at Draco, catching the stunned wizard around the navel and knocking the air out of him, much like he had done to Hermione earlier. Needless to say, the hug was a bone crushing one.

"Oh Master Draco! Dobby knows you was never doing it just to hurt him. Dobby tried and tried to make it seem like he was hurt so you would get attention!"

Draco blinked but Hermione asked,

"You mean you used to let him beat you?" She wasn't mad at Draco in the slightest because she knew his past and what he had gone through.

Dobby pulled away slightly from Draco, "Ms. Granger do you really think Dobby and the rest of us house elves would take beatings and punish ourselves so viciously without a way to speed up our healing? Besides Master Draco only used to do that when he was very, very young so it never really hurt Dobby!"

He shook his head at her, "House elves isn't stupid miss. We have our own brand of magic we use to heal ourselves. We can take the worst beatings and be right as rain in no time! Why do you think our masters' houses is always clean?"

He rolled his eyes and said in an almost mocking tone, "And you is supposed to be the smart one miss."

Draco broke out into hysterical fits of laughter, while Hermione huffed and tried to stay angry at him and Dobby, found it a futile attempt, and joined Draco in laughing at herself.

When Draco finally finished laughing, he looked over at his former house elf,

"Dobby? Thanks. Thank you." Dobby beamed at him, "Would you consider Dobby...being my friend?"

Dobby's eyes watered again, "Master Draco," he cried clutching at Draco's shirt, "It would be an honor to be your friend."

Draco smiled at him and now returned Dobby's hug.

"The honor is mine Dobby, the honor is mine."

As Dobby let go, Draco asked, "There is one thing Dobby. I don't exactly like you calling me 'Master Draco.' Do you think you could call me something else?"

Dobby thought for awhile before responding.

"Begging your pardon sir, but nothing else sounds right, unless of course you is wanting me to call you Draco sir."

Draco chuckled, "That'll do Dobby."

Dobby smiled, "Now I knows you is coming down here to get something to eat. What is the two of you wanting this evening?"

Hermione responded, "Just a sandwich and a glass of milk for me please Dobby."

Dobby nodded as he turned to Draco.

"Anything is fine with me Dobby, as long as there's a lot of it."

Dobby nodded again as he left to retrieve the food. It came surprisingly fast, Hermione's sandwich paling in comparison to Draco's literal mountain of food.

When they were finished and their plates cleared away, Draco and Hermione sat discussing S.P.E.W.

"But honestly 'Mione, why do you insist on trying to free house elves when only about one in every million wants it?"

"I'm not trying to free them Draco! It's just not fair to them! They deserve fair wages and working conditions, just like us humans!" Hermione retorted.

"'Mione you have to think about the house elves beliefs in this. They may…well must I suppose, have a different view on what is fair and what is just." Draco said.

"But that's my point! They're not educated! They don't know what fair and unfair is! They're just doing what wizards tell them to do because they don't have enough confidence to tell them otherwise!" She shot back.

"Again I don't think you're giving them enough credit! Every living thing," Draco paused at this, recalling the words of the voice from his dream, "Well, almost every living thing has a choice. The fact of the matter is that the house elves love what they do! They CHOOSE to clean, they CHOOSE to cook, and they CHOOSE to take orders from those who they themselves have named 'master.'"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "But they're bound to the family that their relatives were bound to! And they can't leave unless they're given clothes."

"True, but that brings you right back to their beliefs. They believe that they have to receive clothes to leave their family, when in reality they could always _CHOOSE _to leave at their own will!" Draco countered.

As Hermione was about to respond, they heard the giggling of the pear in the portrait and they both looked at each other in panic before silently agreeing to run and hide behind one of the large shelves where the elves stored the plates and silverware.

The voices were audible almost instantly, but there were no bodies to place them with. Hermione however knew who the voices belonged to instantly.

'Harry…and…GINNY? Oh, maybe he's finally going to tell her!'

"But honestly Ginny! Who postpones Quidditch because of a little rain?"

'Or not.'

"Really, it's like its never been played in bad weather before!"

At that the Invisibility cloak that had covered the pair came off to reveal two pajama clad Gryffindors, one angrily muttering to himself, and the other trying to stop from giggling.

"Oh come on Harry! You know that Dumbledore is only doing it with the best interests of the students in mind."

Harry looked at her, "But it's just a bloody bit of inclement weather! It'll pass like it always does! But nooo! Let's hold off on it just so the students won't have anything to look forward to this weekend!"

Harry sighed obviously still upset, "And since Dumbledore stopped the Quidditch matches 'til the rain passes they're not even letting us fly at all. That's how I used to get away from everything, by going out and flying. I just felt so…free you know?"

Ginny nodded and Harry continued, "And now it's like they've clipped my wings. I can't do anything about the stress, when everything just becomes too much…I'll have nowhere to turn."

Ginny looked at him, "Harry…you know I'll always be there if you need me right?"

Harry chuckled, leaning against the wall as Ginny placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

He grasped her hand, closing his eyes as he laced his fingers with her. He opened them again,

"Yeah Gin, I know," And without thinking he added, "That's why I love you."

Ginny seemed to falter, obviously shocked, 'No Ginny, you know he didn't mean it like that! Don't even get your hopes up.'

'….Too late.'

'Damn!'

Meanwhile, behind the silverware cabinet Hermione was strangling Draco as she cursed at Harry, "No Harry you bloody idiot! Clarify! Clarify! Tell her how you love her as in a hell of a lot more than a friend you bespectacled moron!" She hissed.

Even though this was said in a whisper, Draco's wide eyes and struggle for breath was testimony enough as to how strong Hermione's feeling about the situation were.

Still, Draco needed air.

"…'Mione…air…vital…essential…to…life…NEED!" He managed to force out.

"What? Oh!" she released him and let him drop to the floor still focused on Harry and Ginny.

Draco shook his head, "..T-thanks." He said before greedily breathing in mouthfuls of precious pure air.

During his inhalation, he felt it. It started out as only a little tingle, but then it grew to an itch.

'Oh….damn!'

Harry saw Ginny's face falter and realized what he had said.

'Damn! Smooth Potter! Bloody smooth!'

'What do I do? What do I say? How do I get out of this situation….intact?'

'I don't know about you mate, but I'm going to do the one thing that all minds do in this kind of situation.'

'Which is what exactly?'

'**ABANDON SHIP! ABANDON THE BLOODY SHIP! BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO STAY HERE ANYMORE! I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE TO WATCH YOU GO DOWN IN OVER EXTRAVAGENT FLAMES!'**

'..Hm…thanks for the mental support.'

Harry heard a sigh from his mind,

'Listen mate, what you have to understand is that in these situations the mind is useless. I'll just get in your way.'

'But you're the one who said I was in love with her!'

'True, but I merely related the message from your heart since you're too thick to listen to it! But right now, the only thing that I can tell you is to listen and follow your heart. I know that sounds cliché but, hell…it's true.'

With that Harry was immediately thrust back into reality where he was faced with a choice.

On the one hand, he could tell Ginny how he felt in a reasonable, calm, Weasley brother approved way. On the other hand, he could simply snog her senseless and hope that she didn't push him away in disgust and Bat-Bogey him into the next bloody dimension.

"Ginny…" he was cut off however, when she said,

"It's alright Harry. I-I know you didn't mean it like that. I…" here Ginny was cut short as Harry's lips suddenly crashed down onto her own in a very, very surprisingly intense kiss.

Ginny literally blanked out for ten whole seconds into the kiss. Harry had to wrap his arms around her waist as she melted into it. Gathering her wits again, Ginny deepened the kiss.

'Damn! For someone who's only ever been kissed by a partially psychotic Ravenclaw, he's a bloody good kisser! I could so get used to this!'

'Woah! Harry thought, 'I'm actually kissing Ginny! Ginny Weasley! Ron's sister, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's daughter…and it feels so…right.'

'You know what else would feel right mate?'

'Oh piss off you! Not right now!'

Sadly though, all good things must come to an end. However it wasn't due to either Harry or Ginny wanting or needing air, but rather because of a loud sneeze of in the corner coming from behind a large shelf where countless sets of silverware were being stored.

"ACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

'Damndamndamndamndamndamndamndamn!' Draco shouted at himself in disgust quickly clamping his hand over his face.

"Draco you bloody idiot!" hissed Hermione who had been watching the exchange before them with rapt attention, like someone who's come in halfway through a season of a soap opera and is desperately trying to catch every detail.

"It was just getting good."

Then she seemed to realize the situation they were in, 'Harry + Ginny + Me +Draco CATASTROPHIC PANDEMONIUM! Oh we're in deep shi….er…trouble.'

Hermione looked at Draco, who looked back at her, having obviously come to the same conclusion she had. So, being the polite person that she was, she nodded at him.

"We're screwed."

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Draco whispered.

Then, as Hermione was waiting for their inevitable discovery, she finally realized the full gravity of their situation.

Her brown eyes widened as she stared into Draco's now slightly guarded gray. She wasn't sure if he was ready for this kind of confrontation yet, this was after all, his first night out of their Common Room since his breakdown.

She reached out a hand to him taking his in her smaller one, "Draco?" It was a soft question.

Draco responded, giving her hand a scared squeeze that clearly said, 'Just don't leave me.'

She nodded at him giving him a reassuring squeeze in return.

They heard whispers and the tell-tale sounds of parchment being unfolded.

'Damn! He's got the bloody map! If he hurts Draco…'

'What you'll hex him into oblivion and then nurse Draco back to health while you have him unnecessarily lying half naked on the couch in the Common Room?'

'…No. I was going to say that I would never forgive Fred and George for giving him the thing in the first place…but you had some good ideas too.'

'Wait, wait, wait! You're supposed to disagree with me 'cause I'm the "bad" part of your mind!'

'No, I like your ideas.'

Silence.

'I've done it! I've succeeded where it was thought impossible! I've corrupted you! I corrupted you! I win! I WIN!'

"Hermione?" That definitely wasn't Draco.

She sighed and got up, bringing Draco with her, as they were still holding hands.

"Hello Harry, Ginny. Having a bit of fun are we?" Both of the teens blushed before Harry spoke,

" 'Mione what in the bloody hell are you doing here in the middle of the night with Draco Malfoy? And why are you holding his hand?" 'I bet you he's got her under the Imperius Curse.' He thought.

Hermione immediately got angry, "First off Harry, as Head Boy and Girl we are allowed out past curfew! Second, we wanted something to eat! And thirdly because I'm afraid you're going to kill him because your thinking he has me under the Imperius Curse."

Harry could only blink in surprise. 'How in the hell did she know that?'

'You're not exactly that hard to figure out mate. You've got about three emotions in total, well..four now that you've admitted you're in love with Ginny.'

Harry growled, 'I thought I told you to piss off!'

'Suit yourself.'

Harry once again came back to reality, but this time he was faced with an angry Hermione Granger.

"Um..uh…aren't you under the Imperius?"

'Well that was brilliant.'

Hermione seemed to grow even redder, "Of course I'm not you idiot! I can't believe you! You and Ron are just the same! Always jumping to conclusions!"

Ginny interrupted here, "Hang on their 'Mione. Harry is NOT like Ron! Harry's…sexy. And he's a great kisser."

Needless to say this caused Harry to blush six shades of red, jump to an interesting shade of indigo, and then back to red again before he spoke,

"That's not the point Hermione! The point is that he's a bloody supporter of Voldemort! His father's a Death Eater in the psycho's Inner bloody Circle! AND he's probably right behind his father, just waiting for an opportunity to get you!"

The resounding SMACK that went from one end of the vast kitchen to the other and back again was enough to silence the room at once.

Ginny's eyes widened while Draco's were now downcast and tearing up, though he was making a weak attempt to hide it.

"Hermione! What in the hell was that for?" Harry managed to choke out as he rubbed his cheek furiously trying to ease the pain.

"You Harry, that's what! You're what's wrong with me!" Hermione shouted angrily, "You of all people…you're such a hypocrite! You should know never to talk of things you know nothing about."

Harry rolled his eyes in exasperation, "What's there to know? He's a no good, low down, self-obsessed git who probably helps his father torture muggles during the summer for sport! He's a Death Eater in training for Merlin's sake!"

"You're just assuming Harry! And do you know what happens when you assume Harry? You make an ass out of you and me!"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, this remark caused Ginny to giggle, which in turn set Harry off as well.

Hermione couldn't help it, and judging by Draco's shaking shoulders, neither could he.

If anyone had walked into the kitchens right then, they would have seen what appeared to be four psychotic teenagers rolling on the ground in gales of unrestrained and friendly laughter.

They would have thought that one of them had just told a very funny joke and that all four were very close friends.

They would of course, be sorely mistaken.

What anger that had been coursing through Harry and Hermione towards each other was gone, completely evaporated by Hermione's choice of insult.

When all the teens were once again stable, both mentally and physically, their conversation ensued, albeit in a much calmer manner.

"Hermione, I just don't understand why you're with him, here, ALONE!" Ginny asked.

"Well I am his tutor!" Hermione responded.

"OH! So that's where you've been all week!" Harry said, "That still doesn't give us any reason as to why you're here at," he glanced at his watch, "Twelve in the bloody morning with him! I mean, I'm sure he could've gotten food for himself, couldn't you Malfoy?"

"Harry…" Hermione pleaded, "You don't understand! Draco he…he need me right now. He needs someone to be there for him, someone to lean on if you will."

Harry and Ginny looked at each other, then back at Hermione, "Why?"

Hermione seemed to stumble here, "Because…I..I can't tell you! I can't…I won't do that to him!"

"Do what to him 'Mione?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head, "I'm not saying anything!"

Immediately all eyes turned to Draco, two pairs which were expecting an answer, and one with a worried look in them.

Draco glanced up and saw everyone looking at him and he sighed, "Look Weasley, Potter…I don't really feel like explaining everything…"

Harry snorted.

"But since you Potter can "read minds", you can go ahead and have at mine, and then tell your newly acquired girlfriend about it later."

Harry, Ginny and Hermione stared at Draco astonished at the offer.

"Draco, you realize what you're doing?" Hermione questioned worriedly.

Draco nodded, "It's the only way 'Mione," he looked at Harry and Ginny, locking eyes with both of them at the same time, "Just think of this as my turning over a new leaf. All I want is the chance to start over with all of you. Hermione already has, but will you?"

He said this with such an intense sincerity that Harry almost forgave him on the spot. Instead he replied,

"That depends on what you show us Malfoy. Then, and only then, can we decide to trust you and try to forgive you."

Draco nodded in understanding, "Whenever you're ready Potter, I've got nothing to hide. Probe away!"

Hermione stifled a giggle. Then as Harry and Draco locked eyes, Hermione felt Draco stiffen next to her and all humor left.

* * *

A/N: Well there you have it. Chapter Five of Say I. Please R&R! Hope you enjoyed it! 


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